‘L 01–283’ (Reg. No. CV‐140, PI 658001) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum officinarum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, S. spontaneum L., and S. sinense Roxb. amend. Jeswiet) was released on 6 May 2008 by the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in cooperation with the USDA‐ARS and the American Sugarcane League, Inc. L 01–283 was released because of its high sugar and cane yields, early maturity, and excellent ratooning ability. Cumulative data indicated that L 01–283 produced 10% higher sugar yield, 5% higher cane yield and 4% higher sucrose content than ‘HoCP 96–540’ when averaged across all crops. The new cultivar is moderately resistant to common brown rust disease (caused by Puccinia melanocephala Syd. & P. Syd.), resistant to smut disease (caused by Ustilago scitaminea Syd. & P. Syd.), resistant to leaf scald [caused by Xanthomonas albilineans (Ashby) Dowson], resistant to mosaic strains, and moderately resistant to the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis F.). The cross for L 01–283 (XL96–402) was made on 22 October 1996. Early stage clonal selection was done as single stools in 1998 followed by the first clonal line trial selection in 1999 and the second clonal line trial selection in 2000. Testing in replicated yield trials was conducted throughout the sugarcane growing area in south Louisiana from 2002 to 2008.